


Sealed With a Kiss

by loveyoutoobits (lostflares)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant, M/M, yes that does work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-01 05:18:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17238128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostflares/pseuds/loveyoutoobits
Summary: The rules of the soulmate letter are simple: it will arrive on your 18th birthday, and when opened, reveal the first name of your soulmate. However, once you meet your soulmate, the full name is revealed. You can choose to never open the envelope, hoping that maybe the person you love will be the person in the envelope, but the name won’t change no matter how much you want it to.





	1. Year 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [akaparalian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/akaparalian/gifts).



> I am so sorry this is late! December is such a busy month. This is a gift for akaparlian! I hope you enjoy~
> 
> This is highly canon compliant, some of the dialogue is pulled directly from the comic because it fit well enough for my plan. I had had this soulmate au floating around since I basically got into the Check Please fandom, and I am so so so happy to finally be done with it, it was really killing me trying to figure out how to fit it in the way I wanted.

The rules of the soulmate letter are simple: it will arrive on your 18 th birthday, and when opened, reveal the first name of your soulmate. However, once you meet your soulmate, the full name is revealed. You can choose to never open the envelope, hoping that maybe the person you love will be the person in the envelope, but the name won’t change no matter how much you want it to.

Jack never wanted to see what was in his envelope, when it showed up in rehab. He might’ve before, but not then. His name was embossed on the front of the envelope, and it smelled like cinnamon, no doubt some odd hint to who it was. But he had no interest in love following what he had just done. Instead, he shoved the envelope towards his parents, who took it with a look to each other as Jack rolled over in his bed, covering his head with the blanket.

They took the envelope and carefully stored it away, hoping someday their son might believe he deserved to know who his happiness might be. They made sure never to mention soulmates or love or the envelope around Jack. He knew they were walking on eggshells around him, but he was almost glad that they avoided the subject. Especially considering the name he expected to be in the envelope. He dreaded that more than anything. He still hadn’t managed to hold a proper conversation with him after the draft. And he hadn’t really wanted to.

His dream had been ruined by his own anxiety. But really, he was almost grateful for the break. A beak from the pressure of living up to expectations of the entire world. Taking a year off and clearing his mind, he allowed himself to forget about the envelope. When he finally decided to go to college, Jack knew that he would finally escape any temptation he had to ask to see the envelope, with hundreds of miles between him and all reminders.

Or so he thought.

* * *

Eric always wanted to know the name inside his envelope, but he hadn’t wanted anyone else to know. He wasn’t ready for the conversation he would be forced to have with his parents when the name inside wouldn’t be some nice girl’s name. Or any girl’s name at all. Eric had no idea what he would do if there  _ was _ a girl’s name inside either. He’d just hope the rules wouldn’t be that cruel. When the letter showed up, he shoved it into his suitcase pocket, aiming to be far away in college before he opened it.

His parents asked about it of course, knowing he had received it, but he lied. He had gotten good at lying to them. He said he wanted to keep the name secret until it changes, that he didn’t want to get their hopes up. They accepted it, to Eric’s relief, but the envelope felt like it was burning a hole straight through his suitcase each time he entered his room.

The longer it took from his 18 th birthday to the first day he stepped onto Samwell’s campus, the more he didn’t want to open the envelope and see who it might be. As May turned to June to July and finally to August, Eric decided he wouldn’t look at the name. Disappointing himself was definitely preferable to disappointing his parents. So, as he moved into his dorm, he kept the envelope inside the pocket of the suitcase.

~

“Ransy, winter screw is coming up, you know what that means, right?” Holster slung one arm over Eric’s shoulder while looking over his fellow d-man, who returned a knowing look.

“We’ve got to find our dear sweet frog his soulmate, right?” Ransom slung his own arm over Eric’s shoulders, and suddenly Eric felt very very small, never mind the six inch height difference.

“So, Bitty. What’s the name? Who might the lucky lady be? If she’s here, we’ll find her,” Holster asked.

“I’m friends with the whole school on Facebook, you know.” Ransom nudged Eric in the side, and Eric forced out a laugh. They had gotten two things wrong, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to share either one with them.

“Oh well. You know. I just realized I left a pie baking in the library gotta go!” Eric slipped from under their arms and went back the way they came, leaving Ransom and Holster in each other’s arms, as Jack and Shitty watched on.

“You know, I can tell he’s lying, not because of the library, but because he’d never leave a pie unattended.” Jack said as they all watched Eric leave. Shitty gave his best friend an odd look.

“You know, the two of you are a lot a like, Jack.”

Jack gave Shitty a withering stare, but he asked anyways. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I seem to remember a certain someone dodging the soulmate question for the last few years, and even when you’ve been on dates, it’s either been with someone who hadn’t opened their envelope or who didn’t care what the name was.” Shitty poked Jack in the side, and Jack frowned back.

“I haven’t opened the envelope either, Shits. I don’t know who it is, and I don’t want to know who it is. I’ve told you this before.”

“Yeah yeah, but that doesn’t mean you and Bitty aren’t similar. If I knew any better, I’d say that our dear Bitty hasn’t opened his envelope either.” With that Shitty kept going to breakfast, leaving Jack staring off after Eric in confused contemplation.

* * *

It only took a few more hours for Eric to confide in Shitty, and then the rest of the guys, that whatever name was in his envelope, Eric was hoping for it to be a guy’s name. Because he was gay. But he was afraid that maybe the system messed up and put some girl’s name in there, so he hadn’t opened it yet.

Of course, that didn’t stop Ransom and Holster from trying to find Eric a date to winter screw, as that was the opportunity to see if the soulmate had opened their envelope, and to see if Eric’s name would be in someone else’s.

Eric was tired of it. He wanted something real, not manufactured by envelopes. Or so he kept telling himself. But love was love and not the same as the love from and for soulmates. Eric had seen couples that were just in love, ignoring the envelopes, and he had seen couples who were soulmates with matching names in the envelopes, and there was something different about the soulmates, a love that he so desperately wanted. But was so afraid to try for.

Ultimately, he didn’t think he could share that fear with someone who had opened their envelope already. Most guys on the team had. Except for one. So that’s how Eric came to be knocking on Jack’s door one day during his freshman year.

“Come in.” Jack’s voice filtered through, and Eric took a breath and pushed in. Jack looked surprised to see Eric, but shrugged, “Well, you were too polite to be Shitty or Ransom or Holster. What’s up, Bittle?”

Eric stood just inside the door for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts more, but there was nothing to do other than just ask. He took a deep breath, then blurted out the question. “Why have you never opened your soulmate envelope?”

He flinched a bit, hoping Jack wouldn’t take the question the wrong way. They hadn’t been on the best of terms, but they’ve been better since they started playing together and doing the checking clinics in the morning. Off the ice, though, they didn’t talk much. Eric started to panic, wondering if it was too personal, before deciding that it was definitely too personal.

“Sorry, I’ll go. That wasn’t something I should ask… It’s just…” Eric shook his head and turned to leave.

“Wait! Bittle, wait.” Jack said, and Eric finally looked at him. There wasn’t any hate on Jack’s face, but rather an odd mix of emotions that Eric couldn’t place. Eric stayed just inside the doorway, one foot out the door. Jack looked between Eric and the hallway, before beckoning him further in, gesturing to Jack’s armchair that sat in the corner from where Jack was at his desk.

Eric sat down tentatively, on the edge, ready to run away if the conversation didn’t go well. He was mentally kicking himself for even starting the conversation in the first place, but his curiosity and his need for validation had compelled him further than he might have gone.

“Bittle, you haven’t opened yours either, right?” Jack asked softly, shooting a glance to the door between his and Shitty’s room. Eric did the same, but also remembered to nod in response. “Why haven’t you?”

“Because I’m gay and my parents don’t know.”

“Is that all?” Jack prompted, and Eric was surprised to hear as much curiosity there as he had asked Jack with.

“The longer I left the envelope the more I was afraid to see a name I didn’t want to see there. I didn’t want to be disappointed with who the universe decided I should be with.” Eric whispered. He looked down at his hands, unable to meet Jack’s eyes after the truth.

“Me too.” He said, and Eric threw his head up, wide eyed. Jack held up a hand to continue. “There was… someone I had been with before the envelope arrived. It might have been love, probably more so lust. But then… I missed the draft. I couldn’t look at them after my overdose for some reason. The envelope showed up a couple months later, and I found out that, if that name was in the envelope, I definitely didn’t want to see it. So I refused to look at it, and forgot about it.”

“Do you ever feel like opening it?”

“The few times that I think about it? Not really. There isn’t anyone who I might want to be there, so there is no one I hope for it to be. The only thing I hope for is for it to not be them.”

Eric tried to digest all the information that Jack had chosen to share with him here. It was more than he had expected at all. And somehow, it was helpful. To know that he wasn’t the only one to be afraid of the name in the envelope. But also, to know that the someone else is his infallible hockey captain.

“Thanks Jack. That really did help.” Eric shot a quick smile, before leaving Jack’s room. He returned to his dorm and looked at the envelope for the first time since he got it. His name was embossed onto the front, and he knew that  _ someone’s _ name was on the inside. And for the first time in a while, he wasn’t so afraid of who it might be, and also didn’t feel like knowing.

Jack was right that there was no one Eric hoped for it to be, and so he’ll leave it at that. Maybe one day they’ll both find the person they want to love, and maybe they’ll find that right name inside the envelope. But Eric knew that neither of them would go for it until then. And it was comforting to not be along.

* * *

The playoffs came and went, and Eric’s concussion came too. Jack took care of him more than he might have otherwise, feeling guilty that the play he had suggested was what got Eric hurt. Eric didn’t mind it, though he felt weird about it for the last month and a half of his freshman year.

He moved into the Haus after Johnson moved out. Despite the concussion, he insisted on not needing help from Jack or any of the guys, though they also insisted on helping anyways. Jack hovered around the Haus more than he should’ve considering he had camps to go to over the summer, but it wasn’t until the day he left that he finally came over to Eric as he was bringing up yet another box of cookbooks.

“Bittle… I’m really sorry about that concussion—”

“Jack, it wasn’t your fault. I trusted your decision, and it worked out for the team, never mind what happened to me.” Eric stopped him early, because he had been hearing the apology for weeks.

“I know. You’ve told me that before. But I’m also really sorry about how I treated you this season. You’re a really good hockey player, and you didn’t deserve the animosity I was giving you.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re friends now, right?”

“Sure. I’m really thankful you don’t hate me, you know. I was surprised you even voted for me for captain.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck, and Eric had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to mentally shake it off, but it just sat there.

“I couldn’t hate you if I tried. You are a really good captain, an admirable hockey player, and someone I feel lucky to call a friend. I’ll be back and ready to play come August, and anyone else as captain wouldn’t have worked.” Eric said more than he meant to but meant every word he said so he hoped Jack would let the over sharing slide.

Jack gave him an odd look, something Eric couldn’t place, but shrugged it off with a smirk. “Alright then Bittle. Don’t forget to eat more protein.”

“Have a good summer Jack.”


	2. Year 2

Eric’s envelope stayed in Samwell the entire summer, in a box on a shelf in the Haus. It was a weight off Eric’s mind from May to August, where the previous year it was the only thing on his mind. He enjoyed his summer of rest and recuperation, finally cleared for play just before the new season.

Eric’s fear of checking got worse after having actually been checked, and the checking clinics with Jack continued. Each morning Eric was awoken by a soft knock on his door and each morning he and Jack would walk to Faber, chatting mundanely. The tightness in Eric’s chest that he had felt at the end of last semester began to show up earlier and earlier until it began at the sound of the knock. But instead of dealing with whatever feeling it was, he ignored it.

Until he couldn’t. The food course that he took with Jack had a final project of making a historical dish, and with Eric’s ability to bake, Jack needed his help. But Eric made one fatal error. They were baking and talking about Jack’s future NHL career in the Haus kitchen, working side by side.

“Bittle, I’m ruining your project, why did you let me do this?” Jack frowned over the lattice on one of Eric’s pies. “See--”

“I’m sure it looks fine, let me see--” Eric turned, bag of flour in hand, just as Jack turned around with pie in hand. Inevitably, in the smallish Haus kitchen, they bumped into each other.

“There is no checking practice in my kitchen!” Eric threw some flour in Jack’s face before Jack could protest about that comment. “No chirping, Jack, either. Besides, we were talking about your career, not your baking.”

“Right, well as I was saying, I’ve gotten offers from the California teams, and they did seem all nice, but I’ve got my top three--” Jack kept talking about hockey, but Eric had stopped truly listening. Because as the light filtered through the window and shown softly on Jack, who was covered in flour and wearing a tight black t-shirt, Eric had no choice but to acknowledge what the tightness in his chest truly was.

He was in love with Jack.

* * *

 

It didn’t take long for Eric to return to his room only to stare at the envelope that had remained unopened for a year. He knew then what name he wanted it to be, but he knew there was no way that it could be. Jack was straight, only ever dating girls. Plus, there was no way they could be soulmates. Eric was sure of that.

But still, the envelope was more tempting now than it had ever been before. Eric picked at the edge, pulling up lightly on it. He wasn’t going to open it. He really didn’t want to be disappointed. For a different reason than before.

Acknowledging his feelings but also not wanting to let himself down because of them meant a difficult situation. For one, he couldn’t avoid Jack, as his teammate, captain, hausmate, classmate, and friend, but he also couldn’t be around him any longer. The want to act on his feelings might get too much. So, as much as he couldn’t avoid Jack, he still avoided him.

Eric knew it would be hard though, when during a kegster, Jack actually came down from his room and took part. Mainly, chatting with Eric. Eric had definitely drank too much alcohol to allow this much conversation with Jack, but he had also drunk too much alcohol to stop himself.

“You should’ve seen it, Bitty! They were big guys, the whole o-line of the football team. I turned the firehose on them and that got them out of the Haus. Things always go wrong at one these,” Jack said, slightly tipsy. He didn’t drink much, Eric knew, but he also didn’t mind the more open conversation he got from Jack with a drink or two in him.

“I’m tweeting that-- you know, I’m surprised you haven’t chirped about having my nose buried in my phone,” Eric joked, though he expected a retaliatory chirp for that. Instead, Jack surprised him.

“No, since it’s out, why don’t we take a selfie? You could post it to your blog!” Jack pointed at Eric’s phone with a laugh, reaching out to take it. Just as they were about to take the photo, though, a voice interrupted them, and the night got a whole lot more complicated.

Because, standing there like a ghost from the past, was Kent Parson. “I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t seeing it for myself, Jack Zimmermann taking a selfie. Didja miss me, Jack?”

Jack disappeared back up to his room, and Kent Parson got attention from everyone at that party. Even Eric was first drawn in to the awe of a real NHL hockey player at their little party. But he had seen the way Jack had looked when Kent showed up. And after awhile, Kent disappeared. These facts coupled with what little Eric had heard about what happened between Jack and Kent was enough to make him worried. But nothing prepared him for what he overheard in the hallway between their rooms.

“--Jack, you could come to Vegas, they could clear cap space if I tell them you’re on board, you can leave this shitty team--”

“Kent, get out. Get out of my room.” Jack sounded angry, and Eric couldn’t help but slow down as he searched for his key.

“For fucks sake Jack, don’t get bent out of shape--”

“You can’t just come to my school unannounced and corner me, trying to get me to do whatever you want--” Jack was practically shouting, but thin doors meant that Eric could hear everything anyways.

“Fuck Jack, what do you want me to say, that I miss you? Cause I miss you... I miss you.” Kent’s voice started angry before trailing off into a strange softness that Eric didn’t expect.

“You always say that.” Jack’s reply was bitter, but Eric could hear the sharp intake of breath from Kent. 

“You know what, Zimmermann? You think you’re too fucked up to care about? That you aren’t good enough? Everybody already knows what you are but there’s people like me who still care. Scared they’ll find out you’re worthless? Give it a few seasons, Jack. Trust me.” Kent’s outburst caught Eric’s attention, and he stayed in the hallway longer than he should have after finding his key. He couldn’t stop listening to the conversation, too caught up in his own curiosity.

“Get--get out.”

“And you know something else Jack? It wasn’t you. Your name wasn’t in my envelope. We aren’t even soulmates. I don’t know why I try so hard for you despite knowing that.”

“Get out of my room!”

“Fine, shut me out.”

“And stay away from my team.” Jack’s voice was shaking, and Eric knew the conversation was coming to an end and that he should get out of there. But he dropped the key. He scrambled to pick it up as the final parting words were shouted on either side. Just as Eric picked up his key, Jack’s door opened, and Eric came face to face with an angry Kent Parson and a panicked Jack.

Kent left with another crack at trying to recruit Jack, and Jack went back into his room, leaving Eric alone in the hallway. Alone with all that he had just learned.

* * *

It didn’t help that the kegster that Kent crashed was before winter break, but Eric was determined to apologize to Jack for listening in to that conversation. Even if it meant confronting Jack at the shinny.

“Jack, hey, can we talk?” Eric approached him as he taped his stick, thinking it was the best time if there was ever a good time to have this kind of conversation. Jack looked up at Eric with a small smile, and Eric relaxed somewhat.

“Yeah sure, what’s up Bittle?” Jack didn’t pause in taping his stick, and the lack of eye contact helped Eric to push on.

“I just wanted to know… if you were okay?” Eric internally winced, knowing that he was acknowledging what might be on both their minds. Jack sighed, confirming that fact.

“Listen, Bittle… both me and Kent have a lot of things to apologize for. He and I had… differences.”

“Okay.” Eric should have left it at that, but something else was weighing in on his mind, and he couldn’t help but ask. “Was he the name you didn’t want to see?”

Jack stopped, and stared at the ground. He didn’t answer right away, and Eric was left kicking himself for asking at all. Finally, Jack sighed. “Yes.”

With that, Jack got up and started the game on the pond, leaving Eric to scramble after him, still shocked by Jack’s answer.

* * *

The longer the spring semester went on, the harder it got for Eric to ignore his feelings. The hockey season continued to go extraordinarily well, and Jack smiled more, each smile tugging at Eric’s heart. They flew through the playoffs, until they landed on the door to the championships. 

And then the door didn’t open for them. They lost the championship game, in Jack’s last year as captain and at Samwell. None of them had any words for how disappointed they were, but no one was as disappointed as Jack in that moment. The only thing Eric could think to do was to hold on and hope to be some comfort.

As the school semester went on, Jack signed with the Providence Falconers, Shitty got the chop, and graduation was getting very very real. Eric had no idea what he would do when the seniors left, but he decided on one thing: he would tell Jack his feelings. To hell with the envelopes.

But March turned to April into May. At the kissing center ice ritual after they had all cleared out of the locker room, the roof of Faber afterwards, through finals, through Eric’s birthday and the brand new oven, all the way to graduation.

Eric missed chance after chance, until finally it was the day of graduation, and there was no going back once Jack left that podium. The in between moment between that moment and Eric’s flight back to Georgia would be Eric’s last chance.

And the moment was handed to him on a silver platter. The rest of the team had gone off already, the only ones still around being Jack with his family, and Eric. 

“Bittle, you still hanging around?” Jack called out to him, coming from across the quad. Eric swallowed, turning to face the moment.

“Oh, Jack! Well, I guess I’ve been…”

“You’re heading off soon, too, right?”

“Yeah, I was going to head back to the Haus soon before my airport shuttle gets here… And well, you look about ready to go too.” Eric faked a smile, not ready to just get it out.

“Oh yeah, my mom’s got an alum thing and then we’ve got reservations for later, then straight to Providence after that.”

“Oh, so I guess this is it.”

“...Yeah.”

Eric made a decision, and hugged Jack, putting all his feelings into that one gesture, just in case he couldn’t say it. “Bye Jack.”

“Bye Bittle. It’s been great playing with you.” Jack hugged back, but Eric could feel less feeling in both the words and the gesture. It was then or never, he decided.

“Jack-- I...I…” But the words wouldn’t come out. Nothing was coming out. As much as he would like to say fuck the soulmate envelope, he couldn’t. There would always be that nagging feeling in the back of his mind, that what if Jack wasn’t who he was meant to be with. Regardless of whether or not they got together. There would always be that what if. And Eric couldn’t say it. “I guess I’ll be seeing you on TV next, haha.”

“What are you talking about? I’ll be driving up before the season starts.” Jack chuckled.

“Right, of course, silly me!” Eric tried to laugh it off, but it hurt. “Now get out of here before you make me late for my flight.”

“Ha, see you, Bittle.”

Eric left for the Haus, tears threatening to spill and disappointment in himself settling over his mind. That was his last, and probably only, chance. And he blew it.

* * *

 

Jack found the whole conversation with Bittle odd. Like Bittle hadn’t been himself. It was weighing on his mind as he continued to say goodbye to classmates he barely knew and the graduating seniors began to peel off towards their new lives.

It weighed on him as his dad approached, ready to leave Samwell campus. And it was obvious to Bob that there was something on his son’s mind.

“Ready to go back to the hotel?” He asked, though he knew almost what the answer would be.

“Yeah almost. I just… I feel like… I haven’t really said goodbye to everyone.” Jack was thinking of Bittle, but he still couldn’t quite put his finger on why he felt like their goodbye was incomplete. They said bye, didn’t they? What else was there to say?

“It’s too late to skate another lap,” Bob gave him the benefit of the doubt, though they both knew that wasn’t what he meant.

“No… not that.”

“Ah. Well, you know what your uncle says, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Bob reaches into his coat pocket, and pulls out a slightly crumpled, slightly yellow envelope. Jack doesn’t recognize it right away.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, go say goodbye. You won’t be back here for some time, you know?” He hands Jack the envelope, and Jack stares down at his own name embossed onto the front. And suddenly he knew exactly what his dad meant. He takes the envelope and tucks it into his own coat pocket. 

He didn’t have to open it to know what it said. He probably had known what it said from the moment Bittle stepped onto campus. But he hadn’t wanted to think about, hadn’t let himself think about it. But the pictures didn’t lie, and neither did Jack’s heart. Jack just hadn’t listened. Until now.

“If that’s what your heart is telling you, go. Go really say goodbye.” Bob finished, though he knew his son had stopped listening. Jack had finally figured it out all on his own.

Jack took off, running across the quad, hoping he wasn’t too late.

* * *

 

He arrived at the Haus, out of breath but not ready to give up, sprinting up the stairs until he was standing outside Bittle’s empty room. He wasn’t there. He had already left. Jack had missed his chance. He kicked himself mentally, for how stupid he had been, for not realizing earlier.

He heard a noise from what had been his room. A soft sob punctuated with an even softer voice. Jack whirled around, relieved to see that Bittle hadn’t left yet. But also, not happy that Bittle was crying in what had been his room. He took the few steps between their doors until he stood just behind Bittle, before reaching out and lightly touching his arm.

“Bittle.”

“Hello! Jack?” Bittle broke off from singing along to his iPod, surprise wiping the sadness from his face. Jack couldn’t speak, but that didn’t matter because Bittle kept going. “My goodness, is everything alright? You’re outta breath, you could have texted--”

“Bitty.” Jack couldn’t think of anything else to say. He rarely knew just what the right things to say were, especially when it came to Bittle. He could say how blind he had been to his own feelings, or how, even without opening it, he knew Bittle’s name would be written in his envelope, or how he didn’t care if it wasn’t.

Instead, Jack didn’t say any of that. At least, not with his words. Instead, he leaned down and kissed Bittle. He hadn’t imagined long what Bittle might taste like, but on his run to the Haus it had been one of the thoughts running through his head. Maybe he might taste like cinnamon or like the pies he bakes, Jack had thought. But the reality was that he tasted like tears, and it made Jack want to kiss him harder, to apologize for making him cry.

And so he did. He kissed him again and again, until he could no longer ignore the buzzing from his phone. They pulled away, but not far, breathing heavy.

“I gotta go, but I’ll text you, okay?” Jack didn’t want to leave, but he knew they both had plans that hadn’t involved kissing.

“Okay.” Bittle looked a little wide eyed, like he couldn’t believe what had just happened, but he still leaned in as Jack stole another kiss.

“I’ll text you.” Jack promised one last time, leaving Bittle alone in his old room.

Jack left the Haus in a bit of a daze, but the car his parents had rented was outside. Jack wasn’t sure how his dad knew he would be there, but he also didn’t question it all that much. In fact, Bob had given Jack the envelope, as if knowing he would be running off to whoever he thought his soulmate was.

He piled into the car, not matching anyone’s eyes, though he knew they were all on him.

“Did you get to say goodbye?” Bob asked, and when Jack looked up, his dad had a soft smile on his face, and Jack knew he wouldn’t ask who. He’d let Jack come out with it on his own. And Jack definitely appreciated it.

“Yes, I did. Thanks to you.” Jack matched his father’s smile, and they drove on. Jack could feel the envelope burning a hole in his pocket. It had been six years since he received it, and not one in five of those years did he think about opening it. He briefly thought about it when Bittle had asked why he never did, and thought about being glad he never did when Kent had shown up, but beyond that, he never thought about his soulmate.

But now he knew who he wanted it to be. He thought he knew that it would be Bittle. If it wasn’t, he didn’t care. He placed a hand on it, feeling the folds it had gotten over the years. He hoped it’s magic still worked, even if it had been so long.

He didn’t open it in the car to the hotel. He didn’t open it at the hotel. He didn’t open it at the restaurant, or on the drive to Providence. In fact, he didn’t open it until his parents were back at their hotel, and Georgia had gone home. He sat in his apartment, with the state-of-the-art kitchen, and he opened the envelope.

The writing inside had faded some, and Jack was almost afraid that that meant it truly had been too long to know for sure. But as the envelope rested, open at last, the writing grew darker and more clear. Written in the center, in big, bold letters, was the full name of Jack’s soulmate: Eric Bittle.

 

It didn’t take long for Jack to text Bittle after the kiss. And it definitely didn’t take long after Jack opened his envelope to tell Bittle. Jack had spent too long avoiding his feelings, and he never wanted to miss a shot.


	3. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eric opens his letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> due to popular request, Bitty opens his letter! but definitely not in the way you think.

Eric doesn’t open it. At least, not right away. He just assumes, if he was Jack’s, that Jack was his. They’re relationship was solid, the magic of soulmates, the magic of the envelope showing true. So what if he lies to those who ask. So what if he can say it with so much confidence that he feels like he doesn’t even need to open it. So what if their wedding was in two weeks and Eric still didn’t know 100% for sure.

They had been together for five years. They had both graduated, Jack was stabilized in the NHL, they had had their cup kiss, officially coming out to the whole world, and they couldn’t be happier. Eric thought that there might be some nagging feeling in the back of his head that he should open the envelope, but there hadn’t been. And there still wasn’t. 

“Bits, are you alright? You’ve been staring at the invitations without moving for ten minutes.” Jack came into the front room where Eric had been sitting on the couch surrounded by RSVPs in their envelopes. 

“Of course sweetheart. Just lost in thought is all.” He makes a mark on the spreadsheet they had made about those they invited, and puts down the envelope he was holding.

“Anything in particular?” Jack leans down and kisses Eric on the top of the head, and Eric closes his eyes briefly at the contact. He hums, before leaning forward again.

“Do you ever regret opening your envelope?” Eric doesn’t look at Jack, but he can feel him freeze behind him.

“Why, do you think it was wrong?” Jack’s voice held that panic he still felt from time to time, and Eric kicked himself for his phrasing.

“No, no of course not, sweetpea. I just mean… we were happy then, and you decided almost immediately to open yours, to find out the truth that you wanted to be true more than anything… but what if it hadn’t been me? Or what if it wasn’t me you were with but it was still my name on the envelope?” He pauses, thinking whether or not he should risk lying so blatantly if only to get his point across fully. “What if our names hadn’t matched on the envelopes?”

Jack relaxed behind him, leaning forward to rest his chin on Eric’s head, surveying all the envelopes. “Well, Bits, it’s a bit too late to be doubting things now. But no, I never regret it. Because I’m happy with you, and we’re happy together, and proof that the soulmate thing is true.”

Eric hums instead of responding, reaching up to pat Jack’s cheek, a routine they’d fallen into over the past five years. The feeling of them staying like this felt so natural, Eric wasn’t sure if it was just habit or if it was the magic that had seemingly brought them together.

Jack retreated from the routine, as he tends to, with a sigh of contentment, before hoisting his gear bag to his shoulder and leaving their home. Eric watched him leave, cross legged on the couch surrounding by the return wedding invitations, and all their envelopes.

* * *

Eric was woken up by a timid knock on their door. He turned to look on his left, only to see that Jack had already left for the day, with his game later on. Even having been in the NHL for ten years, Jack didn’t show much sign of slowing down, leading the Falconers through several cups, leading Canada in the Olympics and the World Cup.

Eric, on the other hand, sets his own work hours, which end up being two hours later than his husband’s. Eric had left the 4am wakeups behind him in college, anyways. Checking the clock, Eric saw that it was only 7:15am, fifteen minutes before his alarm went off. But of course, Eric wasn’t alone in the apartment, as the knock roused him from his tiredness.

“Come in,” Eric called softly, though knowing who was on the other side of the knock there would be no one left in the house asleep. The knob turned slowly, and was pushed open by the small figure that was their daughter. 

All of five years old, they adopted her shortly after they got married, and named her Grace. She was a shy, sweet child, who took after both of them, personality wise, which made for an interesting combination. She was showing a lot of Jack in this moment.

“Oh what is it, sweetheart?” Eric sat up and made room for her to climb up next to him. She snuggled into his side like she usually does when she has a nightmare, but at this moment she didn’t seem scared, only pensive.

“Daddy, how do the soulmate envelopes work?” Grace stared up at him with curiosity written all over her face. “I know you and Papa are soulmates, but how did you know?”

Eric stilled beside her, though she didn’t notice. He hadn’t thought of the envelopes in five years, not since a couple weeks before their wedding. He still hadn’t opened his. He had thought about maybe opening his after they got married, but then he got his dream job as head baker and eventual owner to the bakery.

But he made his decision, to finally open that envelope. He always kept it close at hand, maybe subconsciously, tucked away in the bottom drawer of his nightside table. He shifted around Grace and reached down to grab it, pulling out the slightly yellow tinged envelope. He was thirty, and the envelope was 12 years old, but he could still feel the slight magic it gave off.

“Would you like to see how it works?” He put the envelope in her hands, and she stared at it in wonder. She knew better than to open someone else’s soulmate envelope, even at only five, and she handed it back to him with a wordless nod.

Eric took it and stared down at his embossed name, running his fingers over it lightly, before flipping it over to the back. He paused, wondering if he really wanted to open it, after all this time. Then he looked down at his curious little daughter, and it dawned on him that, no matter what, his life now meant more to him than the outcome of the envelope. No matter what it said, he knew he could tell her truthly that Jack was his soulmate.

“I’ve never told anyone this, not even your other father, but I have never opened my envelope. It sat ignored for my first two years of college, and then, after me and Jack got together, and he opened his, I thought I didn’t need to open mine. So I lied to him, saying I had opened it. I didn’t care then what it said, and I don’t care now what it will say. I love your father more than anything, except maybe you,” he poked her in the side and she giggled, and Eric smiled warmly at her. “But, you asked me how they work, so I’ll show you.”

He pulled at the flap that kept the envelope closed, and it came away easily, the glue dried up or maybe the envelope allowing itself to easily be opened. Eric unfolded it until they could both see the name that had been printed for over a decade inside, Jack. As they watched, first Zimmermann, than Zimmermann-Bittle, followed the first name.

Strangely, Eric was relieved to see his suspicions confirmed, but he never expected any other name to show up. Grace stared in awed silence at the magic she had seen, and she reached out and ran her fingers over the letters that had appeared. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Eric realized his alarm was going off and that he should probably get up and get ready for work, and get Grace ready for school.

“Alright, you little angel, we’ve got things to do and places to be, so let’s get on up and out of bed,” he picks her up as he swings his legs over the side of the bed, and she giggles as he takes her out of the room back to hers.

He leaves his envelope on the bed, knowing that he’ll probably have to tell Jack the truth about the envelope. But for now, he’ll just be glad that he truly had found his soulmate. And their life together had been written in the cards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated, kudos are nice.  
> Feel free to check out the rest of my fics while y'all are here, I'm planning on writing a lot more this year and I'm excited for some of the projects to come, with hopes of actually finishing them this time. Til the next one!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed!
> 
> Although the story is complete as it is, if you want Bitty opening his envelope, I'll add on a short little epilogue, just let me know!


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